• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Digital Transfer of Tech Manuals Gives Deployed Sailors Greater Access, Flexibility

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS090608-05
Release Date: 6/8/2009 12:51:00 PM

By Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Command Communications

PORT HUENEME, Calif. (NNS) -- Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Port Hueneme, a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), transferred more than 160,000 pages of technical manuals in one hour while aboard USS Ardent (MCM 12) May 24.

The transfer, a first in U.S. Navy history, utilized the Technical Data Knowledge Management System (TDKM) and represents the first bulk underway digital transfer of technical manuals. A total of 642 technical manuals, each averaging 250 pages, were transferred according to Naval Systems Data Support Activity (NSDSA).

"This event proves the capability of the TDKM system and allows us to keep the fleet current whenever and wherever they are," said NSDSA director Troy Sutton.

Equipping the warfighter to meet current and future operational requirements is part of the NAVSEA mission.

TDKM synchronization allows a ship to download their ship-specific technical manuals from the Naval Engineering Technical Library (NETL), which is managed by NSDSA at NSWC Port Hueneme. All technical manuals developed in support of operation and maintenance of naval ships are required to be housed in the NETL. TDKM gives the fleet the ability to identify all technical manuals applicable to them and retrieve them if not already onboard.

"TDKM has been deployed in the fleet but has only been executed on pilot ships until now," said Sutton. "Ships can now synch up through the TDKM system and digitally retrieve eighty-five percent - ninety percent of their required tech manuals if needed. Until Ardent synchronized underway, this was something we had only done pierside. Until then, underway synchronization was limited to small amounts of data."

This capability is a team effort with the NSWC Port Hueneme, Carderock and Crane Division as well as industry.

For more news from Naval Sea Systems Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/navsea/.